Thanks to all of you who downloaded a copy of my digital chapbook for When the Lights Go Out!
With your support, the Kindle Edition went from being ranked somewhere around 1.6 million-and-something to breaking into the top 11,000 e-book titles downloaded.
For those who prefer a physical signed souvenir—print copies will debut this month at the Racine & Kenosha Authors Book Fair.
Thanks for your support!
To all three of you have inquired as to the absence of the monthly podcast, please forgive the delay.
My voice got sidelined for almost a month by a horrible summertime flu/virus/thingy. And then I had a week or so of heavy design projects. And then lost my voice again for a couple weeks due to another summertime allergy/virus/whatnot.
And then there is the issue of selecting and securing the rights to use guest music on the podcast.
I know, enough excuses. Thanks for your patience. I think you may enjoy the upcoming episodes.
Thanks for your support!
When it comes to promoting my own work, I am extremely self-consciousness. However, here are three announcements that may interest you.
In a GTD[1] effort to increase productivity, I studied my online activity this spring using time tracking software. Currently self-employed, I wanted to make sure time is not wasted but used wisely.
For the most part, social media is out. Same goes for video games and online audio and video streaming sites (not that I ever play video games online anyone, but I do allow myself to listen to music and audio podcasts while working).
A couple times during this period I noticed that the weekly report showed that I spent four hours on Facebook. I was shocked. Maybe I left the computer on while running an errand (which could take hours due to my current rural location) and left the internet browser window open during that whole time. I made immediate efforts to close that open loop of un-productivity.
Those reports intrigued me and I wanted to find out how many hours most Americans spend on Facebook per day. According to a 2011 source, the average American spends
“15.5 minutes … on Facebook every single day.”[2]
But, as you know, three years ago is a century ago in the digital world. A 2013 study reports that an
“average user spends 23 hours a week emailing, texting and using social media and other forms of online communication.”[3]
23 hours! That is a lot of online time. But that statistic does not surprise me. As a professional graphic designer, I spend at least 40 hours a week in front of a screen. And now, most design and communication applications are cloud based or at least supported online. So, as you can see by the screen shot at the beginning of this post, much of my time is designing books, book covers and other marketing and print materials while listening to podcasts or music.
A month ago a new report says
“the average American now spends 40 minutes a day checking a Facebook feed.”[4]
That is a huge increase from three years ago — 280 minutes a week spent on Facebook. 4.6 hours a week. 18 hours a month! I can layout a 240-page book in that time and maybe have time left over to design the book cover (of course, that depends on editor and author changes and corrections, but I digress).
I am sure there is a lot of news from family and friends that I miss by avoiding Facebook. But when you are self-employed those 18 hours can be used resourcefully and effectively to provide for your household — and to secure and maintain future clients. Or, at least, that is the strategy.
NOTES:
[1] GTD, or Getting Things Done. http://lifehacker.com/productivity-101-a-primer-to-the-getting-things-done-1551880955
[2] “You Spend 8 Hours Per Month on Facebook” by Ben Parr, September 30, 2011, accessed August 22, 2014, http://mashable.com/2011/09/30/wasting-time-on-facebook/
[3] “Americans Spend 23 Hours Per Week Online, Texting” by David Mielach, July 2, 2013, accessed August 22, 2014, http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/4718-weekly-online-social-media-time.html
[4] “Americans Now Spend More Time on Facebook Than They Do on Their Pets” by Joshua Brustein, July 23, 2014, accessed August 22, 2014, http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-07-23/heres-how-much-time-people-spend-on-facebook-daily
In social media there are no take-backs, no do-overs.
—Ronnie, “Beware the Dark Side” (via Develop Socially)
From an email about the event:
All the words that I utter,
And all the words that I write,
Must spread out their wings untiring,
And never rest in their flight,
Till they come where your sad, sad heart is,
And sing to you in the night,
Beyond where the waters are moving,
Storm-darken’d or starry bright.
— William Butler Yeats, “Where My Books Go” (via bookoasis)
Last week The Asheville Blade published a story I wrote — Why I Left Asheville.
The response to that story has been overwhelming. If you have not read the story yet, please give it a read and share your thoughts in the comment section. Thanks for your support!
From the graphic design archive…
Anyone remember doing advertising or editorial mockups using dry transfer lettering? Or the fact that mockups were expected to take days not hours?
The weekly Racine Public Library Wordshop gathering of poets and writers is always lively and engaging. Last week there was a special presentation of Beat literature.
Upon acceptance of another story this week, I received this note from the editor:
“Good lord this is good.”
The encouragement from these editors helps sweep a lot of self-doubt out of the way.
Announcing the release of When the Lights Go Out: and other writings [Kindle Edition]!
This e-book collects four stories from a Coffeehouse Junkie audio podcast plus a bonus chapter. Inside When the Lights Go Out includes stories about creative space, laptop versus hand-writing and more. Here’s a list of the chapters:
Plus a bonus chapter!
Listen to the audio:
And thank you for your support!
Download today: When the Lights Go Out: and other writings [Kindle Edition]
Received this note from the editor of a forthcoming article to be published:
“…it’s excellent, timely, very motivating and inspirational.”
“The art of writing is the art of discovering what you believe.”
Gustave Flaubert (via absynthe-words)
Years ago, the practice of capturing a moment or event was accomplished with pencil and sketchbook.
But poems are like dreams: in them you put what you don’t know you know.
Adrienne Rich, ‘When We Dead Awaken: Writing as Re-Vision’ On Lies, Secrets, and Silence (via thedaysarenotfullenough) (via libraryland)
This morning, kidlinger walks up to my desk while I work, looks at the laptop screen critically and asks: “What’s that?”
Me: “I’m listening to Shostakovich.[1]”
Kidlinger: “He’s not one of the three killer B’s.[2]”
Me: “True. Would you prefer to listen to Bach, Beethoven, or Brahms?”
Kidlinger: “I don’t know.”
Me: “How about some Bach… violin sonata in G minor? Something to encourage you to practice your violin.”
Kidlinger: “Yeah, that sounds good.”
NOTES:
[1] Here’s a brief bio on Shostakovich: http://www.classical.net/music/comp.lst/shostakovich.php
[2] This is not a reference to the 1991 release of Anthrax’s B-sides collection Attack of the Killer B’s. But it is a reference to the three greatest classic music composers, commonly knowns as the Three B’s, Bach, Beethoven, or Brahms. Here’s a link to recent relesases of the Three B’s from NPR’s “Music We Love Now: New Albums Of Bach, Beethoven And Brahms”: http://www.npr.org/blogs/deceptivecadence/2013/03/18/174659127/music-we-love-now-the-3-bs-on-cd
“Meformer” (vs “informer”) is not a new term,[1] but for some reason it is making its rounds on social media the last few[2] months.[3]
NOTES:
[1] Jennifer Van Grove, Mashable, “STUDY: 80% of Twitter Users Are All About Me”, September 29, 2009, accessed July 15, 2014, http://mashable.com/2009/09/29/meformers/
[2] Patrick Allan, LifeHacker, “Be an Informer, Not a ‘Meformer’, To Get More Followers On Social Media”, May 29 2014, accessed July 15, 2014, http://lifehacker.com/be-an-informer-not-a-meformer-to-get-more-followers-1583508468
[3] Kirk Englehardt, LinkedIn, “Are you a Twitter ‘Informer’ or ‘Meformer’?”, June 03, 2014, accessed July 15, 2014,
https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140603184736-3091133-are-you-a-twitter-informer-or-meformer
“I’ve always been suspicious of those who seek to describe the effects of digital media in generational terms, drawing sharp contrasts between young “Internet natives” and old “Internet immigrants.” Such distinctions strike me as misleading, if not specious. If you look at statistics … the average adult has spent more time online than the average kid. …. And the idea that those who grow up peering at screens will somehow manage to avoid the cognitive toll exacted by multitasking and persistent interruptions is a fantasy contradicted by neuroscientific research. All of us, young and old alike, have similar neurons and synapses, and our brains are affected in similar ways by the media we use.”
Nick Carr, from the afterword of the paperback edition of The Shallows (via wwnorton)
It is a long week when Friday morning reveals 40 hours worked and it will be two more 10-hour days before a rest.
Still, I managed to attend the Racine Public Library’s writers group this week after a long absence. If you’re looking for a friendly group poets and writers in the Racine area, visit the group.
Also, I have not forgot about this week’s Coffeehouse Junkie audio podcast. It is in production and due to release this weekend. It features a listener’s comments, special dedication and original music between the segments by John Hayes.
So, why the busy week? Oh, boy… where do I start?
Let’s just say, designing a few software application icons and buttons that allow for best user experience is one matter. Designing dozens and dozens is a whole different critter. And that was Monday. And then Tuesday… well… maybe later.
Does the world need another advertorial[1] on how to be successful in life and business?
This morning I read the article, “Books To Change Your Life And Your Business,”[2] on LinkedIn. It is rubbish. The books listed will not change your life, but might place you in a better neighborhood. Jeffrey J. Fox’s How to Become CEO[3] includes a chapter on required reading for those interested in rising to the top of the corporate ladder. It is a far better and engaging booklist than the one Linda Coles provides.
But, maybe Americans ask the wrong question. Maybe our culture seeks the wrong definition of success in life and business.
Earlier this week, Sunday morning, I was reminded that Americans who have enough to eat, adequate clothing, a place to sleep and a car, are in the top 15 percent of the world’s wealthiest. Further, if you have plenty to eat, a modest collection of clothing, a savings account, two cars and own your home, you are in the top five percent of the wealthiest people in the world.
What if success in life and business is simply a matter of doing what aught to be done? And doing it the best of an individual’s abilities?
NOTES:
[1] A “blend of advertisement and editorial.” http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/advertorial
[2] “Books To Change Your Life And Your Business” by Linda Coles, May 21, 2014, accessed May 21, 2014, https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140521221520-33236097-7-book-choices-for-a-better-life The books mentioned in the article include: Choose the Life You Want by Tal Ben-Shahar, How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie, The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini and others
[3] Booklist from How to Become CEO include: The Bible, The Art of War, The Book of Five Rings, The Prince, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, anything by Thomas Jefferson, The Sun Also Rises by Hemingway, and others.
A light breeze from the south, sunshine, blue skies, and the chirp and trill of birds set the stage for a lovely Sunday afternoon. I am sitting outside the apartment reading a book. Or rather reading through a stack of books.
Across the courtyard a guy enthusiastically shouts at his television regarding the baseball game. To the south, the theme music for the television show Dr. Who is heard from an open second-floor window. Why not sit outside and read a good book? Or two. In this northern climate there have been only a few days like this so far this year.
One of the books I have already read, but wanted to reread a selection of poems. One book I bought because I ran up such a large fine at the public library it made practical sense to purchase a copy and finish reading it. Others were on a list of books I have intended to read. One book I put off reading, but am more than 50 pages into it and wonder why I put it off for so long.
What about you? What are you reading this weekend?
It is very attractive. Even tempting. Imagine that you are a poet and “more than 20 million people” read one of your poems. That is equivalent to everyone in the state of New York reading your single work of poetic vision and craftsmanship. That is the claim of the monthly poetry contest promoted by Goodreads and the ¡Poetry! group.
The contest rules are simple. All you need to do to enter the monthly contest is to post your poem in the monthly feed of the group. [1] Each month the contest receives hundreds of poems [2] — enough to fill a large print anthology book. I have contributed twice, [3] [4] but have not won a contest. The May finalists — four of them selected by the judges — were posted on April 29, 2014 [5] for readers to vote on their favorite poem of the contest. [6] On May 14th, a Goodreads e-newsletter arrived in my inbox announcing the poetry contest winner for the May contest. Congrats to the winner!
Yet, there is a part of me that is a bit sad. Not because I did not win. But because I almost deleted the email. In order to read the winning poem, I had to scroll all the way to the very bottom of the e-newsletter. And then I wondered — how many of the 20 million recipients actually read the poem? Even if one percent of the people who receive the e-newsletter actually read that poem — it is still more readers than any published literary journal or magazine in America can reach in a single month. That is impressive.
NOTES:
[1] The June 2014 Goodreads Newsletter Contest, accessed May 14, 2014, https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1818448-please-post-your-poem-for-the-june-2014-goodreads-newsletter-contest
[2] 384 poems to be exact. That is the total number of poems submitted for the May 2014 Goodreads Newsletter Contest, accessed May 14, 2014, https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1769435-please-post-your-poem-for-the-may-2014-goodreads-newsletter-finalists
[3] I contributed the 148th entry for the May 2014 contest (accessed May 14, 2014): https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1769435-please-post-your-poem-for-the-may-2014-goodreads-newsletter-finalists?page=3#comment_96303966
[4] Also, the 104th contributor for the March 2014 contest (accessed May 14, 2014): https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1690565-please-post-your-poem-for-the-march-2014-goodreads-newsletter-contest?comment=92342509&page=3#comment_92342509
[5] If I remember correctly, there were supposed to be six finalists, but two were disqualified, accessed May 14, 2014, https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1802873-please-vote-for-the-may-2014-goodreads-newsletter-finalists
[6] For the next two weeks, finalists wait and/or self-promote their way to the top spot and winner of the contest, accessed May 14, 2014, https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1802873-please-vote-for-the-may-2014-goodreads-newsletter-finalists
“Lock up your libraries if you like, but there is no gate, no lock, no bolt that you can set upon the freedom of my mind.”
Virginia Woolf (via nocureforcuriosity)
Coffeehouse Junkie 